Comparison

Local A.I. vs MLX

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Local A.I.

Features
Read full description

100% local, private, and always available — no data sharing, no internet required, no subscriptions.

About

MLX

This AI studio runs entirely on your device, processing conversations, voice recordings, and generated images locally. It offers hands-free calling, voice cloning, and image generation without any account creation, subscriptions, or tracking.

Highlights
  • On-device AI processing
  • Hands-free voice calls
  • Personalized voice cloning
  • Text-to-image generation
  • Offline model functionality
  • No account or tracking
Features
Read full description

MLX-Serve is a private AI studio that runs entirely on your iPhone. Every conversation, voice recording, and generated image is processed on-device by open-weight models — nothing you type, say, or create ever leaves your phone. There is no account to create, no subscription, and no tracking of any kind. MUSIC Generate songs locally using your device ! You can also play it back in the background and use MLX-Serve as a player for your generated music on the go. CHAT Talk with capable open language models (Google Gemma 4) right on your device. Ask questions, brainstorm, draft messages, get things explained. Some models can even understand photos you attach. CALL Tap Call inside any conversation to talk to the AI hands-free, like a phone call. Your speech is transcribed on-device and the reply is read back aloud. Speaker and handset modes are both supported, and the transcript is saved to your chat. VOICE CLONE Record about eight seconds of your voice and have the AI speak text in your own voice, using an on-device text-to-speech model. Great for narration and fun. IMAGES Generate images from a text prompt with an on-device diffusion model (FLUX.2). Tap a result to zoom in, save it to your photo library, or share it. FULLY PRIVATE, FULLY OFFLINE - Runs 100% on-device using Apple MLX and the Metal GPU. - No account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. - The network is used only to download the AI models you choose from Hugging Face. After a model is downloaded, that feature works offline. REQUIREMENTS Models are multi-gigabyte downloads and on-device AI is demanding, so MLX Chat requires a recent, high-performance iPhone. Download over Wi-Fi is recommended. You pick which models to download and can delete them anytime to reclaim space. Open models are provided under their respective licenses (Gemma, Apache 2.0). MLX Chat is an independent app and is not affiliated with Google or Apple.

Screenshots

Local A.I.4 screens
MLX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MLX at Free against Local A.I.'s $0.99. MLX also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks). Local A.I.'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MLX is free to download; Local A.I. costs $0.99 up front. MLX sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Local A.I. asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Local A.I. ships an update every 5 weeks, MLX every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Local A.I. versus MLX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocal A.I.MLX
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB211 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJesus Evert Corral PedrazaDavid Dalcu

In-app purchases

None

Local A.I.

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MLX

One-time1
  • Music Generation$4.99

Questions

Is Local A.I. free?
Local A.I. costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MLX free?
MLX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Local A.I. or MLX have ads?
Neither Local A.I. nor MLX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Local A.I. or MLX?
Local A.I. ships an update every 5 weeks, and MLX every 3 weeks. Most recently, Local A.I. was updated on October 25, 2026 and MLX on October 9, 2026.

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